Oedipus the King: A Tragic Hero

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A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a man who is great but also terribly flawed, who experiences misfortunes while still remaining admirable to the audience at the end of the play. One of Aristotle’s favorite works, Oedipus the King, a play by Sophocles, is a play that above all others, defines the meaning of what a true tragic hero really is. In the play, Oedipus the King, the story unfolds after Oedipus unintentionally kills his own father and goes on to marry his mother. The events of the play are tragic, but it is the way that Oedipus handles the tragedies that make him a tragic hero.

From the very beginning of the play, we can already see that Oedipus is a great but flawed man. He proves to us to be a great and courageous man because of his extreme intelligence and cleverness. At the opening of the play, the chorus attributes Oedipus with solving the tricky riddle of the Sphinx and saving the city of Thebes from the gruesome creature. Oedipus’ intelligence seems to come to him naturally yet he was “taught . . . nothing/no skill, no extra knowledge [from the Thebans], [yet] still [he] triumphed,” (46-47). Oedipus also shows the audience his greatness by demonstrating the extreme amount of passion he has for the city of Thebes. At the beginning of the play, when the city of Thebes looks to Oedipus for an answer to the ruthless disease that is plaguing the city, he replies with a compassionate voice, “Your pain strikes each of you al...

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